


Past Memories

by The_Inheritor



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Dreams, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Link is messed up mentally, Memories, Past family, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:55:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24665728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Inheritor/pseuds/The_Inheritor
Summary: Link wakes up after an odd dream involving his parents.He has a talk with Zelda about this, and finds out something astounding.
Relationships: Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	Past Memories

**Author's Note:**

> So this...sort of happened, just like all of my stories...it's longer than usual, sorry if it's too much (o.O)  
> \---  
> Written by me -- Contains errors, typos and word bugs (bzz.)  
> Please be safe and well, I love you all (^.^)/

** PAST MEMORIES **

_ "I need him to understand that he's the future of our people. Not some romantic hero from one of his books! His job is to serve and protect the King and the Royal Family, not mosey about with the Princess putting her in danger and feeding her dangerous habits!" _

_ "You were like him when you were young .... I distinctly have memories of us running off into the woods when you were supposed to be on the outlying settlement patrol." _

_ "That's different, Ira." _

_ "How is it different? We got up to all sort of shenanigans and mischief back then. He's only taking after you, .... even you can see that." _

_ "Well he shouldn't! It's not right...he'll end up getting someone far more important than himself hurt!" _

_ "Not so loud, he'll hear you. Sometimes I think you do that deliberately..." _

_ "Just this once, let him." _

_ "Stop it. You're just being stubborn." _

* * *

Link had awoken the next morning feeling abnormally groggy. Something that had been happening with increasing regularity as of late. At first he'd been confused as to what was causing his tiredness, only to later find out that it was his dreams that were the cause of the problem. Apparently he was experiencing them so vividly that his mind might as well have been awake.

Even now he could see it when closed his eyes. He could make out the grayscale, darkness of his bedroom ceiling. The shaft of light pouring in from the dying sunlight outside. The smell of the candles slowly burning at his desk, covered in all sorts of papers and "those books" his Father had shouted about. This wasn't the first time he'd had a dream about his past life, about everything from before the Calamity, before the hundred year sleep, and the subsequent war against the Divine Beasts and the Corruption that had seeped into the very soils and sands beneath his feet, even now they didn't feel totally clean. 

The last time he'd dreamed of his Father was a different experience all together. From what he could tell, his Father was an officer in the Kings Royal Guard, perhaps even their Captain, he wasn't sure. All he did know was that the very thought of him, and what little he could remember of him, made the hairs on his arms and legs stand on end, even under the warm bed-furs he had wrapped around himself. These weren't the good kind of goosebumps either...these were the kind he got every time he faced off against a Guardian, or charged swords blazing into a camp of Bokoblins out in the fields.

There wasn't a name...or a face related to the name. Not that it would be difficult to find either. Princess Zelda had told him on several occasions that he reminded her of his Father. They had the same eyes, and the same (at the time) longer blond hair. It wasn't beyond the realms of his imagination to come up with an image of what the man could have looked like. There was also his mother, someone Zelda recalled fondly. Ira was her name...and according to the Princess, she adored him to no end...and was immensely proud of everything he'd done, especially when he was inducted into the Royal Guard and assigned to the Kings Regiment.

She'd been supportive of him right up until the end...and if what Zelda had said was true, he'd seen her on the morning the Calamity rose out from under Castle Town. It wasn't an event that was unprepared for...and everyone who was alive as a result of that fateful, terrible day, didn't need to be reminded of what happened next.

Link wasn't sure what his Father would have thought of his failure to stop the Calamity. Sure, it wasn't a solo effort. The Divine Beasts had initially been fighting the Calamity's Malice wherever it showed itself, and their respective Champions had been fighting along with him. But after they were corrupted, and each of them in turn...Urbosa, Revali, Mipha and Daruk...returned to their beasts in an effort to fight of the blights which had infested them...Link found himself in the seemingly impossible position of defending his home, and the Princess he'd been assigned too.

There was a moment during his final hour, just before that Guardian climbed over the wall and nearly incinerated the Princess, something only averted because he chose to dive In front of her before she was hit, where he'd seen his Father commanding troops on the front lines of the battle. Castle Town in that memory was a mess, rubble littered the streets from where the Calamity had torn the ground up, leveling buildings and setting the guard towers ablaze. Guardians could be heard crawling all over the place, accompanied by a wave of screams and yells with each firing of their beams.

It was one of those surreal moments, even now, that never left him. The man he knew to be so stoic, distant and detached, turned to him after one of the final briefings and pulled him into a hug. Something was whispered to him, a parting message, a goodbye. He couldn't remember what exactly, but the memory of it alone never failed to reduce him to tears.

Even now, just thinking about it had made his eyes sting...

With a deep rushed sigh, which is followed quickly by a sniff, he brings a hand out from underneath his furs and rubs at his eyes, wiping away any hints of wetness before sitting up and rubbing behind his neck. There was the familiar tension of exhaustion still present there and across his shoulders. Most people at this point would have just rolled back over and closed their eyes...going back to sleep...but Link wasn't most people.

He pulls the furs to the side and gets up out of his bed. Taking in the somewhat familiar surroundings of his room. Whenever he wasn't traveling the world out there, he found his home here in Hyrule Castle, a room that Zelda had set aside for him in the Castle Palace's residential wing...not far down the hallways from her personal suite.

It was late out, very late. But Zelda was much like himself when it came to the sleeping department, only partaking in it when she really needed too, or was ordered to by Impa or one of her personal staff on health grounds. After pulling on his trousers and his tunic's white under-shirt, he opens the door of his room and steps out into the hallway. As expected it's dark and quiet, the only source of light being the lit braziers that served to keep the drafty old place warm as well as properly illuminated.

Zelda's room was located on the far end of the hallway that linked in with this one. It was worth a shot to see if she was awake, and if she wasn't he could go for a walk in the grounds. Anything to clear his head right now really, there was allot of heavy stuff lingering within, thoughts, feelings...emotions that if not kept in check could result in unwanted fireworks down the line. 

He walks down the hallway and takes a right at the corner. From here he could see the Princess' door, it was still slightly open. A sign that she was indeed still awake. As he approaches the door however, he can make out a couple of voices in conversation. One of them of course is the Princess herself, and the other...is Captain Arol.

"...it's like making a cake." Arol says, in the middle of one of his analogies. "Sure you can spend all that time sprucing it up with fancy fondants and butter-icing. But what really matters at the end of the day is what's inside. If it's all sweet and delightful on the outside, when you know you made it with half-off eggs and strange smelling milk on the inside...there's not much point in it at all...it's just false, and why would you want to eat it knowing any of that?"

"So you're saying the lack of cohesion between the Guard Regiments across the Kingdom, isn't because of the wrong leadership choices..." Zelda replies, thoughtfully. "But because somewhere along the line someone, somewhere has gone...off?"

"In a sense, yes." the Captain says. "I don't know who is causing the division among our ranks. I don't know why...but I'm doing everything I can to figure that out, and when I do we can sit down and discuss what resolution we should come too."

"You're penitent for diplomacy is...admirable, Captain." 

"I'm just doing what's best for my soldiers, Your Highness. Without stability among our ranks, what hope do we have of progressing into this brave new world?"

Link steps up to the doorway, making himself known as gently as he can. The scene he comes upon isn't nearly as formal as he expects it to be. The Princess and her Captain are sitting on the chairs by the fireplace, both of them enjoying something alcoholic, if the bottle nearby is anything to go by.

"Link..." the Princess says, her face shifting to one of pleasant surprise as she sees him. "Come on in."

"Uh-Oh..." Arol turns on his chair, firing a smirk in his direction. "Usually when you come looking for one of us, it's because trouble is brewing?"

"In that get-up?" Zelda references his lack of armor and clothing decorum. "I'd say he's just woken up."

"I have actually." Link replies, reaching up and rubbing at the stubble on his chin. "I was wondering if you had a moment to...talk."

"Of course." she nods immediately.

"Look I know it's late." Link shrugs. "I can always come back tomorrow if you're wanting to get some sleep."

"Nonsense." the Princess gestures dismissively with her hand. "You're welcome to speak to me anytime you need it."

"You try remember saying that to him when he barges in on you at 3 in the morning." Arol says, finishing the contents of his goblet and placing it down on the table next to the chair he'd claimed. He then stands up. "I best return to my rounds...check everyone is still awake and on watch, never mind on side.."

"Try and get some rest yourself, Arol." Zelda says, giving him an almost motherly look. "That crest on your shoulder may make you a Captain, but it doesn't make you any less a person..."

"I'll catch some shut-eye later." Arol nods. "Promise."

He turns and makes his way out of the room, not before stopping and patting Link on the arm. "Try the wine, it's great.

Once he's gone, shutting the door quietly behind him, Link is left with a couple of questions. "What was that?"

"The Captain and I like to take some time to go over the weeks events, discuss issues and make mutual decisions in regards to my schedule." Zelda says, smiling. She lifts the slate that's sitting on her lap. "That and we agree on who is assigned to me at different times."

"Is my name on there at any point next week?" Link asks, picking up the bottle of wine, three-quarters finished, and inspecting the label. It was an ancient vintage from the Castle's Cellars. Bottled from before the Calamity. "I could use some routine come to think of it."

"Really?" the Princess tilts her head. "That's new..."

"Believe it or not, I do have some semblance of structure to my life." Link takes a swig of the bottles contents, only to immediately spit it out into the fire. "Ugh!...what even is that?"

"Red Wine." Zelda says with a sigh. "Something you were never capable of ingesting without throwing up or doing exactly what you just did..."

Link places the bottle down where it was and sits down across from her, wiping at his mouth. 

"Is everything alright, Link?" she asks next, inevitably. "You seem...off."

"That's because I am." Link sighs, sitting forwards. "I was awoken by a strange dream...or moreover a replay of a memory."

"Oh?" Zelda tilts her head. "What about?"

"My parents..." Link states simply. "My mother and father having an argument in another room...I guess I was younger than I am now."

"Give or take a century." Zelda adds.

"Right." Link can't help the smirk that crosses his face. It fades quickly however as he remembers his dream. "...I wanted to ask you...did you know my Father?"

"I have vague memories of him." the Princess replies after a moment of thought. "He was often back and forth between my Father's Guard Regiment and mine..."

"What was his name?" Link asks. "I know my mother's name was Ira."

"His name was Lerick." Zelda says, something that draws a soft gasp from Link. "He was the head of the Security Regiment here at the Castle, specializing in the protection and safety of the Royal Family and their residences..."

"So he was doing Arol's job back in the day." Link nods in thought.

"Exactly." Zelda nods too. "I don't remember much of him, but from what little I can gather, he was very dedicated to his job, something I think he wished his children would echo."

"Children." Link repeats. "You mean to say I had siblings?"

Zelda's eyes widen a fraction. "I thought you knew that."

Link stares blankly back at her. It prompts her to sit forwards. "Link...you told me that you'd spoken to Impa about your memory loss, that you were working on it."

"I am." Link says, his gaze dropping. "Well...I was."

"What happened?" Zelda asks next. "What made you stop?"

She watches him for the long moment of silence that follows. It was like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I- I don't know." he finally says, his voice seeming to shudder somewhat. "I just-..."

His eyes dart up to meet hers again. "I mean, I tried. I found so many of them...relived moments from my past, some of them I'd give my left arm to go through again...others..."

He shakes his head, a shaky sigh escaping him. "...well let's just say I never knew I had siblings until now."

"Were you scared of what you might find?"

"Wouldn't you be scared?" he asks in response. "If your whole life before all of this was a mystery to you, wouldn't you be afraid of what you might find?"

His shoulders bob where he sits as he shrugs. "I was part of a family...I had friends, distant and not-so-distant relatives...siblings...and all of them are gone now. Except me."

Zelda, for once, doesn't have anything to say to that. And Link wasn't sure in the moment if that made him feel any better or worse. Swallowing the sudden lump that had formed in his throat, he asks the inevitable question.

"My siblings..." he says. "Who were they?"

"Sibling." Zelda corrects with a slow sigh. "You had a little sister."

"What was her name?"

"Ania." the Princess shifts in her chair. "She was only 4 years old when the Calamity emerged...your Father was last seen trying to get her and your Mother to safety...if the recovered testimonies down in the library have any validity."

"I don't even remember her..." Link breathes, his sigh turning to a subdued sob half-way. He closes his eyes, as if to try to will himself to remember something, anything, but he knows full well nothing will come to him. Not now anyway. "...Goddess...I had a little sister...and I can't even remember her."

His right hand comes up to his face covering his eyes as tears start to fall from them. The next thing he's aware of is Zelda's hand coming to rest on his wrist, pulling it away.

"I am so sorry, Link." she says sadly. "I thought you knew about all of this."

He just shakes his head.

"Explains the silence about it..." she says after another pause.

Without warning he grabs a hold of her, pulling her into a hug, hiding his head in her shoulder. It was a strange contrast, one she was prepared for, yet still taken aback by.

Often it was her being comforted and consoled by her Champion, not the other way around. Still it said allot about Link himself. He wasn't nearly as emotionally stable or secure as she had once thought him, and to say that unsettled her in the moment would have been an immense understatement. Zelda was a natural worrier, she was always concerned for those around her, especially those closest to her.

There would definitely be more discussions about this down the line.

...

"...it's not exactly as simple as that, Your Highness." Arol's voice is the first thing he's aware of. "We'd need to scout ahead a couple of days before hand and make sure the road was clear of any monster encampments and other threats. There are still dragons out there too."

"This visit is of critical importance, Captain." the Princess replies, the sound of scribbling on parchment follows that. "I need to see the Rito and maintain our connections with them. We've not been back since the negotiations with the Gorons."

"It's your command, Ma'am." Arol says next. "I just need to make you aware of the risks and that we'll need to make sure everything is safe before we make such a journey on an uncharted route."

"We are going to the Rito." she adds. "If you wish to get your men ready, I suggest you do it now."

"Yes, Ma'am." Arol turns on the spot just as Link snaps awake. He spares him a glance as he passes, but doesn't say anything. Looking around, Link finds himself sitting on the chair he'd taken the night before, something which was rather odd considering where he was. Had he slept the whole night in the Princess' study? It certainly looked like it.

"Ah, you're awake." Zelda greets him warmly from her desk, she's sitting there, scribbling onto various pieces of parchment neatly arranged in a pile in front of her. "I was beginning to think you'd passed on."

"Damn it..." Link sits forwards, rubbing at his forehead. At this moment something falls off of him, a soft deer-skin fur, which would likely have been used in one of the Castles many bed-suites. Zelda must have put this over him before she retired to her own quarters for the night, allowing him to sleep rather than moving him. What had happened last night? He remembers talking with her about something...something heavy...something...None of it matters to him at the moment, his head is killing him. "Ugh..."

"Headache?" she asks, receiving only a nod in response. "Odd, you didn't drink anything last night...and what little you did try ended up in the fire."

"What happened last night?" Link peers at her with one brilliantly blue eye through his parted fingers. "I didn't end up falling asleep on you, did I?"

"You could say that..." Zelda chuckles, placing her the quill she's writing with down and sitting back. "I've spoken with Impa...about her work with you in regards to your memories."

"You have?" Link's hand drops down from his face, one eyebrow raising. "How?"

"Shiekah Technology, if paired together is most useful for long range communication." Zelda says, picking up her slate. "She told me that you requested a break from it some months ago...but never returned."

"Yeah..." Link sighs. "I guess you already know why."

"It's entirely up to you, but she is more than happy to continue it with you." she continues. "It's just a matter of approaching her if and when the time comes."

"She said that last time, you know." Link nods. "...I guess I'll drop by on her next time I'm in Kakariko..."

"Or you could go and see later on today..." Zelda says.

"What?"

"She's been scheduled to visit Castle Town this week." the Princess nods. "Might give you an excuse to stick around a little longer, give you that routine you mentioned last night."

"No I've got other commitments elsewhere." Link shakes his head. "I've got to head into the Gerudo and deal with a Hinox that's shown itself near the Bazzar...then after that I'm off to the Domain to catch up with-"

"-You really need to take a break every so often."

"And let the monsters infest the lands, or leave people in dire straits?" Link naturally fires back. "I don't think so."

"I'd prefer it if you stayed for a while...and spoke to Impa when she got here." Zelda choses to change her tactic. "Besides, it would be nice to have you around...we could have a little family reunion of sorts."

Link snorts. "Most dysfunctional family ever...we've got a foolhardy Queen at the head, her emotionally constipated Champion and his shark boyfriend, and a 3000 year old grandmother who could kick everyones ass 3 times over..."

"You consider me family?"

"Well given the absence of the previous one." he shrugs.

"Link!" the Princess suddenly shouts, making him burst into a fit of giggles. "That is not funny."

"Oh, it's beats being sad about it."

**... **

...

**Author's Note:**

> See you in the next one!


End file.
